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Violence in Alexandria. Another mass shooting.

On Wednesday morning the country witnessed yet another mass shooting. What is being relayed as a single gunman, identified as James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois. age 66, fired fifty rounds from (reportedly) an M4 assault styled semi-automatic rifle into the the GOP congressional baseball team out practicing for the upcoming scheduled game between Republicans and Democrats. Early reporting from agencies such as Fox News, Breitbart and the Drudge Report claimed the gunman had asked if the team was Republican or Democrat, and even claimed the shooter said he wanted to kill as many Republicans as possible. These claims have since been debunked. The FBI says there is no early indication of political motive, though it is being cited as a deliberate attack. The gentleman who reportedly asked who was practicing was not the shooter. Pres. Trump states the gunman was killed. I will append this article as information is confirmed.

According to a morning press briefing by the FBI and CNN reports, among the injured are House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, two unidentified Capital Police Officers, one unidentified Congressional Staffer, and Matt Mika, who is a lobbyist for Tyson Foods. Capital Police, as part of a security detail, are said to have returned fire and neutralized Hodgkinson.

Here is the last public posting from Hodgkinson on Facebook yesterday morning:

While the shooter’s social media suggests overwhelmingly that he leans left, he appeared to have a special contempt for Congress, and not specifically just Republicans, citing posts about congressional corruption and demanding term limits. There is no indication on his social media as to why he chose to act out in such a violent manner.

The Capital is facing increased security and most events and proceeding for the day have been cancelled.

Thoughts and wishes for full and quick recovery have been issued by Republicans and Democrats alike and I would like to add my sincere wish for the same.

No matter how angry you are, violence is not the answer. While there is, undoubtedly, a severe divide in our country between political beliefs and fear for an uncertain future, even anger and open hostility to the extent we have not seen in decades, we must seek peaceful solutions. Turning guns on our fellow citizens because we disagree with or fear them is an act of terrorism. There is no place for this behavior in our society.

Shout out to Anne Coffer, great friend and amazing colleague and author. She has a new book out, just released, that is fantastic, Edge of Ridiculous . I loved it! Get it! Read it! Then tell her how awesome she is!